CPK Earnings Climb

California Pizza Kitchen Inc. posted a 41% gain in fourth-quarter profit Thursday but warned that results for the current quarter may be lower than expected.

The Westchester-based chain of 172 premium pizza outlets reported net income of $6.2 million, or 32 cents a share, for the three months ended Jan. 2, compared with $4.4 million, or 23 cents, a year earlier. The results matched Wall Street’s forecasts.

Revenue grew 20% to $115.2 million from the fourth quarter of 2003. The 2004 quarter included an extra week, helping to boost sales.

Sales at units open at least a year rose 6.3%.

CPK executives repeated earlier 2005 earnings guidance of $1.11 to $1.13 a share but said they expected first-quarter earnings to decline from a year earlier because of $1.1 million in costs associated with five restaurant openings. The company forecast per-share earnings of 18 cents to 19 cents for the current quarter.

The estimate represented a decrease from the 21 cents a share the company earned in the first quarter of 2004 and also fell below Wall Street analysts’ forecast of 23 cents.

“It would have been higher than 2004 if you factored out those pre-opening expenses,” said Rick Rosenfield, the company’s co-chief executive.

Nonetheless, CPK shares fell 54 cents to $25.21 on Nasdaq and declined an additional 2.3% to $24.64 in after-hours trading.

“Folks are disappointed,” said Stephen Spence, an analyst with Longbow Research, who also questioned whether the company would recoup its investment on the approximately 15 new restaurants it expected to open in 2005.

For all of 2004, the company reported net income of $17.7 million, or 92 cents a share, up from $8 million, or 42 cents, a year earlier.

Revenue was up 17% to $422.5 million, while same-store sales grew about 7%.